Before Rafael ­Correa was elected in January 2007, Ecuador went through 10 presidents in a decade. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Since the 1990s, Ecuador has earned a reputation as South America's most turbulent country. Before Rafael Correa was elected in January 2007, the state went through 10 presidents in a decade. The last three were removed in anti-government protests.

Most Ecuadorians welcomed Correa's determination to tackle poverty. Most also approved his decision to expel two US diplomats and to not renew the lease on a small US military base. The middle-class economist, educated in Belgium and the US, said he was a socialist leading a "citizens' revolution". He is a member of the region's "pink tide" of leftist leaders and an ally of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.

Booming oil revenues allowed Correa to double state spending on health care, education, pensions and infrastructure in two years. But the global economic crisis, coupled with some of his controversial policies, has left the country facing challenges.

Critics worry about his decision last year to default on $3.3bn (£2.2bn) of debt he deemed illegal.

His opponents also warn of an authoritarian drift, accusing him of undermining Ecuador's democratic institutions. A measure in the new constitution that allows the president to stand for two consecutive four-year terms has raised concern. His decision to declare a state of emergency after police launched a chaotic rebellion over austerity measures that cut their benefits may heighten this criticism.